1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video display device suitably applied to an electronic viewfinder that displays video obtained by image capture through, for example, an imaging apparatus, an imaging apparatus including the video display device, and a method for allowing the video display device to display video.
2. Description of the Related Art
Imaging apparatuses (video cameras) for broadcast stations or business purposes are designed so that various imaging condition adjustments, such as focusing adjustment and brightness level adjustment, can be performed manually in order to increase the flexibility of video expression. Enabling the manual adjustments allows for image capture reflecting the purpose of a producer or an operator who performs shooting works.
The operator, who performs shooting works, views video displayed on an electronic viewfinder of such a video camera to check whether intended video is captured. Recent electronic viewfinders typically include a color display device for displaying color video.
One of items which the operator checks while viewing video displayed on the electronic viewfinder is a brightness level adjustment state.
Some of electronic viewfinders can provide a display mode in which a portion having a specific brightness level is identified in captured video upon brightness level adjustment.
For example, assuming that a display mode for indicating a portion having a brightness level near 50% is set, an area corresponding to the portion having a brightness level near 50% is detected from video signals obtained by image capture and the detected area is indicated such that a stripe pattern called a zebra pattern is added to the area.
The electronic viewfinder performs the above-described display and the operator checks the area with the stripe pattern. Thus, the operator can easily determine to which brightness level the video camera is adjusted for image capture.
In capturing an image of a person, for example, when the operator intends to perform brightness level adjustment so that a skin color area has a brightness level of 50%, the operator checks an adjustment state in which the zebra pattern is added to a skin color portion. Thus, the operator can perform this brightness level adjustment.
FIG. 6 illustrates a display example in which a zebra pattern Z is added to a skin color portion of a captured image of a person so that the skin color portion has a target brightness level.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-165716 discloses an example in which a zebra pattern is added to a high-brightness area in video captured by an imaging apparatus.